Regional Sr. Manager Special Education

ABOUT ASPIRE

Aspire Public Schools operates a network of high-performing, college preparatory charter schools serving TK-12 scholars in communities across California. Founded in 1998-in an effort to transform the inequitable racial, social, and gender outcomes that our communities persist through-Aspire is one of the largest and most forward-thinking open-enrollment public charter school systems in the nation.

Our purpose is to prepare our scholars for success in college, career, and life. At Aspire, we set a foundation for our scholars to gain knowledge, skills, and power to access and make choices for their families and post-secondary lives. Every day, our community of students, families, teachers, and staff comes together to learn, work, and play in an environment grounded in our values of Bienestar (Well-Being), Culture of Belonging, Community Partnership, Agency & Self-Determination, and Joy.

JOB SUMMARY

The Regional Sr. Manager of Special Education is an essential member of the regional Special Education team and will lead, develop, and focus on the instruction and Development of Education Specialists in the region. In service of supporting all schools in the region to achieve their academic targets, the Regional Sr. Manager plays a key role in the development and delivery of Special Education Professional Development and coaching for teachers.

Reporting to the Regional Senior Leader, and in close collaboration with the Aspire Special Education Team, this impactful role also supports the development of high-quality org-wide pedagogy and instructional practices as aligned to the Aspire Student Learning Framework (ASLF.)

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Management and Leadership

25% of the time is dedicated to the overall management of the Regional Special Education team and working closely with Special Populations/SPED teammates across and at all levels of the organization, vendors, families, and external stakeholders.

Support the Regional Director of Special Education by leading and managing Special Education teammates to

* Serve as an influence and exemplar of exceptional service to Special Education teammates

* Lead the effort to standardize SPED support practices across the regions

* Supervise, train, support, and evaluate the performance of assigned staff

* Provide leadership to the regional and school-site Special Education teams and work with teammates on their Personal Learning Plans to establish goal setting and foster professional growth.

* Analyze feedback and suggestions on regional Special Populations/Special Education events, such as Professional Development sessions and team meetings, to find areas of improvement and implement changes.

* Identify and implement new processes and tools to improve the effectiveness of the Regional Special Education team. Deliver required tools or process training to teammates.

* Research a variety of topics to include but are not limited to current case law, and evidence-based best practices, to provide information, insights, or suggestions to the Regional Special Education team or other applicable parties.

* Ensure due process requirements are met to complete the appropriate development of IEPs and provide ongoing monitoring to ensure IDEA compliance under the direction and guidance of the SELPA.

* Manages difficult cases to ensure appropriate special education services, including attending IEP meetings and parent conferences

* Applies conflict resolution strategies with parents or other stakeholders to resolve disputes related to a student's IEP, demonstrating knowledge of current IDEA and Aspire policy and procedures

Pedagogy and Programmatic Leadership:

Spends approximately 60% of time supporting the regional Special Education Team and the whole region through the delivery of PDs and on-the-ground coaching and support to teachers focused on instructional best practices for our students in Special Education.

* Manages and supports instructional leaders with professional development for school leaders, teachers, Ed Specialists, and Instructional Assistants that is aligned to the Special Education vision of inclusion and addresses trends informed by data. Ensures explicit connections between coaching and professional development with the Transformational Leadership Framework (TLF) and Aspire Students Learning Framework (ASLF).

* Builds capacity through the coaching and development of Education Specialists and Special Education Instructional Assistants.

* In alignment with Aspire's equity beliefs, works with the Regional Instructional Leadership team to provide additional resources and or support to Tier 2 and 3 schools.

* Analyzes site-level Special Education academic data to identify region-wide goals and trends. In collaboration with the Regional Instructional Leadership team, co-creates region-wide action plans to address gaps, creating opportunities to implement pedagogy and curriculum that reflect data-supported best practices from inside and outside the organization, supporting a…